Julie Cooper

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Mon May 15, 2017 8:53 am

Just seen her on TV - came across as a numpty.
Will defo now vote for Birty. Despite his Barstwards history, he gets plenty done for the town.

bedfords · Post by **bedfords** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:00 am

Shouldn't you be more interested in the politics of the party rather than making a decision based on one interview?

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:02 am

SammyBoy · Post by **SammyBoy** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:04 am

basil6345789 wrote:No

I guess that's the end of this thread

CleggHall · Post by **CleggHall** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:09 am

Short and sweet!

ClaretAndJew · Post by **ClaretAndJew** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:14 am

Haha. Fair answer.

Ipreferaflan · Post by **Ipreferaflan** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:28 am

What does Birtwistle represent? You won't see him once he's appointed.

ClaretTony · Post by **ClaretTony** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:34 am

What's this plenty Birtwistle has got done for the town? Wasn't his promise last time to get the accident & emergency department back to Burnley General Hospital?

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:38 am

No, he said he would try but had to settle for a better Urgent Care and a new bollock scanner. Got the new Manny Road Station, The Tod Curve, the College on Trafalgar and started the decline of Rovers. Some say he was just in the right place at the right time but I've always found him a very helpful Jack The Lad.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 9:55 am

Whoever you vote in for Burnley is going to have a hell of a job replacing the investment that comes from the EU to be perfectly honest.

I'd never, ever, ever recommend this normally, but as it seems the norm now to get away with gerrymandering, then maybe Burnley would be better off getting a Tory MP as then there is more chance of him having some influence over what is bound to be a shrinking public purse?

Like I say, goes against everything I believe in, and something I'd never do, but thats the way its going to be going from here on in.

Loyalclaret · Post by **Loyalclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:03 am

The Tod curve, Manny Rd station and the UTC on Trafalgar Street....come off it!

nil_desperandum · Post by **nil_desperandum** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:04 am

basil6345789 wrote: Got the ........... the College on Trafalgar .

I doubt he'll be boasting about that, and it was his project which he pursued at great expense despite all the warnings that there were already 5 brand new schools in town with hundreds of empty desks. The number of surplus places in Burnley is an embarrassment to the local authority, and there are potentially 3 buildings that will lie empty soon at a cost of millions, whilst (at further expenses) we open a "free" school up Padiham Rd.
As for the other projects, I'm not sure how much credit he should get for the Tod Curve and Manchester Rd station. There were a lot of interests that came together to bring these to fruition. After a long campaign from rail enthusiasts and businesses, supporters of the bids included Burnley Council, Barnfield Investment Properties, Network Rail and Lancashire County Council, and let's not forget that the station got a big chunk of EU funding.

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:05 am

Burnley would be better off getting a Tory MP as then there is more chance of him having some influence over what is bound to be a shrinking public purse?

3 Simple rules of voting in a general election.

1. Never vote "Con"servative.
2. See 1.
3. See 1 and 2.

..Got it?

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:07 am

Like I said SW, I'd never do it, but Burnley is a net gain of EU funding, so where is that going to come from?

Reality I'm afraid.

dsr · Post by **dsr** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:13 am

Lancasterclaret wrote:Whoever you vote in for Burnley is going to have a hell of a job replacing the investment that comes from the EU to be perfectly honest.

I'd never, ever, ever recommend this normally, but as it seems the norm now to get away with gerrymandering, then maybe Burnley would be better off getting a Tory MP as then there is more chance of him having some influence over what is bound to be a shrinking public purse?

That's tactical voting, not gerrymandering. Though I doubt a Tory MP would have any influence anyway, because Cabinet government doesn't seem to take much notice of the backbenchers nowadays. (Especially if there is a big majority.)

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:17 am

Easy, a government that has the guts to implement and stay with the Tobin tax and cracks down on large employers skimming off their profits to offshore tax havens.

And please spare me the usual scaremongering about financial outfits moving abroad.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:43 am

Easy?

Yeah, but in reality with a big conservative majority? Not a chance

Getting more funding for MPs of your own party is a form of gerrymandering Dsr, however legal it may be. In the case of Burnley, there is a big shortfall in money coming in very soon, and that is a big concern.

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:48 am

I went through Blackburn to Preston on the bus last week. The millions and millions spent on both these two places was staggering - roads, etc. Burnley has had Jack **** spent on it's roads,

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:51 am

Oh you don't believe all that the gutter/Murdoch press spouts do you about a "Con"sevative "big majority" do you?

You know better then that LC I'm sure.

joey13 · Post by **joey13** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:53 am

Lovely lady and very helpful, a credit to the town , gets my vote every time .

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:57 am

Eh?

You seriously think that opinion polls that are currently 50% Tory vote are wrong?

Don't get me wrong SWC, I fervently hope you are right but you do sound, how can I put this without sounding offensive?, a bit like the Corybnistas I follow in twitter. They ignore everything, and keep showing pictures of JC surrounded by cheering crowds, its all very Michael Foot if I'm being perfectly honest.

Paul Waine · Post by **Paul Waine** » Mon May 15, 2017 10:59 am

South West Claret. wrote:Easy, a government that has the guts to implement and stay with the Tobin tax and cracks down on large employers skimming off their profits to offshore tax havens.

And please spare me the usual scaremongering about financial outfits moving abroad.

Hi South West, you need to have a word with Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. He thinks that the "robin hood" tax is a disastrous idea.

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:08 am

L/C you know as well as most that GEs are won and lost in the days (possibly hours) before the close of polls, so most stuff in between is just stuff in most cases.

P/W what the likes of Khan thinks or doesn't think is irrelevant.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:10 am

Thats a hell of a swing you are hoping for there SW!

nil_desperandum · Post by **nil_desperandum** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:11 am

basil6345789 wrote:I went through Blackburn to Preston on the bus last week. The millions and millions spent on both these two places was staggering - roads, etc. Burnley has had Jack **** spent on it's roads,

May or may not be true, I don't have any statistics to support or debunk this.
But we seem to have had an awful lot of roadworks in Burnley and vicinity over the past few years. The massive project on Centenary Way to repair and resurface the "flyover" being an obvious and expensive example, (£3.5 million), not forgetting the upgrading of the M65.
However, I'm not sure of the relevance of this to this thread, because spending on roads is determined and carried out by the HIghways agency, and I doubt Mr B or Mrs C will be able to exert much influence on this.

gawthorpe_view · Post by **gawthorpe_view** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:19 am

Ballot paper;
Birtwistle?
Cooper?
None of the above.
As for a Tory MP in Burnley?, No chance ever, unless you could pursuade Sean Dyche to stand as a Conservative candidate.

summitclaret · Post by **summitclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:19 am

I like GB but can't vote for him in this election. His party are doing my head in relation to wanting another vote on
Brexit and deliberately trying to undermine efforts to get a good deal. They are also saying that they don't want to control immigration.

After this weekend's comments from labour they are now undermining Brexit.

I will be lending my vote to TM this time. If you want to make the best of Brexit you should do the same. This will also be the best way to see off the commy take over of labour.

SammyBoy · Post by **SammyBoy** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:22 am

South West Claret. wrote:L/C you know as well as most that GEs are won and lost in the days (possibly hours) before the close of polls, so most stuff in between is just stuff in most cases.

P/W what the likes of Khan thinks or doesn't think is irrelevant.

I'll have a pint of whatever you're drinking

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:27 am

I think that is his plan to be honest!

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:30 am

Hope is not a strategy L/C, as I say my advice to anyone (unless their rank Con voters of course) is please don't vote for the usual suspects, just look at their track record over the years of their existence ...it simply won't be in yours or society's best interest over the medium to long term.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:40 am

In a PR world, yeah then I'd agree with you.

I'm clutching at straws here for Burnley, but quite a lot of the people who live there don't understand the amount of money that comes into the town from the EU.

As you say, history tells all you need to know about investment that comes in under the Tories, but putting all that aside, you are talking about no funds coming in that won't be allocated on anything other than party political grounds.

Corky · Post by **Corky** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:46 am

Lancaster makes an interesting point. If as we are led to believe the Tories will win fairly convincingly then surely it is better to be on the inside and be able to hopefully influence government than be on outside looking in with some envy, I dare say.

This is something I used to say to a couple of Scottish people I worked with who used to bang on about the SNP. My view was it was a wasted vote as the 50 (approx.) SNP MPs had absolutely no influence at Westminster. Always good for a wind up.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:48 am

10 years ago, I had faith that any political party wouldn't ignore regions that it had no hope of winning.

Now, not so sure.

SammyBoy · Post by **SammyBoy** » Mon May 15, 2017 11:53 am

Corky wrote:Lancaster makes an interesting point. If as we are led to believe the Tories will win fairly convincingly then surely it is better to be on the inside and be able to hopefully influence government than be on outside looking in with some envy, I dare say.

This is something I used to say to a couple of Scottish people I worked with who used to bang on about the SNP. My view was it was a wasted vote as the 50 (approx.) SNP MPs had absolutely no influence at Westminster. Always good for a wind up.

Sounds like political blackmail to me. If we're going to start voting Tory for fear of what they might do to the borough if we have the audacity to elect a Labour/Lib Dem MP then I might just write politics off as a bad job.

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 12:01 pm

No disagreeing with you at all SammyBoy, but just because its completely unacceptable to us does not mean its completely unacceptable to them.

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Mon May 15, 2017 12:02 pm

Paul Waine wrote:Hi South West, you need to have a word with Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. He thinks that the "robin hood" tax is a disastrous idea.

It's hardly surprising, with the risks to the City from Brexit adding in a transaction tax will pose the real risk of driving companies out, obviously something the mayor of London doesn't want. High frequency trading in particular will suffer. I agree that something needs to be done about it but it isn't something that only one country can do (and the EU has put off implementing anything for many years).

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 12:51 pm

aggi wrote:It's hardly surprising, with the risks to the City from Brexit adding in a transaction tax will pose the real risk of driving companies out, obviously something the mayor of London doesn't want. High frequency trading in particular will suffer. I agree that something needs to be done about it but it isn't something that only one country can do (and the EU has put off implementing anything for many years).

Scaremongering by Khan, and little else.

bfcjg · Post by **bfcjg** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:23 pm

Bring back the lass who was Burnley born and bred, lifelong Claret and was raised on Benny in the miners, that great socialist Kitty Usher.

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:34 pm

bfcjg wrote:Bring back the lass who was Burnley born and bred, lifelong Claret and was raised on Benny in the miners, that great socialist Kitty Usher.

If some people spent a bit more time concentrating on the policy's and not individuals then we might just might get a government that doesn't constantly suck up to the scrounges at the top.

RingoMcCartney · Post by **RingoMcCartney** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:37 pm

Cooper was chosen from a women only shortlist. So 50% of the competition was excluded based on their gender.

Sexist and misandric.

She has zero credibility.

bfcjg · Post by **bfcjg** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:38 pm

When it comes to Corbyn the individual and the policies are one and the same, they keep saying that when they get their message across people will vote for them, I think they have got their message across and people have decided not to vote for them. For the first time ever I am voting conservative in the election, I just think their policies are better for Burnley and the country.

South West Claret. · Post by **South West Claret.** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:44 pm

[quote="South West Claret."]If some people spent a bit more time concentrating on the policy's and not individuals then we might just might get a government that doesn't constantly suck up to the scrounges at the top

Judging by post 41 clearly some people still don't get it.

basil6345789 · Post by **basil6345789** » Mon May 15, 2017 1:57 pm

RingoMcCartney - good point but isn't feminism misandric anyway but that gets praised?

joey13 · Post by **joey13** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:02 pm

bfcjg wrote:When it comes to Corbyn the individual and the policies are one and the same, they keep saying that when they get their message across people will vote for them, I think they have got their message across and people have decided not to vote for them. For the first time ever I am voting conservative in the election, I just think their policies are better for Burnley and the country.

You basing that on the last 7 years in power , Tories say a lot of things which never happen , strong and stable though , mainly with protecting paedophiles , but if you are happy with that well done .

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:26 pm

usually, the tories couldn't get away with such a bullshit campaign, but they have to be seen to mess up not to get in.

If they are never seen, they never mess up. Its a bit weird, but there you go, thats Tories for you.

brexit · Post by **brexit** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:34 pm

By default Laura Fisk for me.
Cooper - done nothing for the town
Birty - undemocratic party wants to overturn brexit.
Cons - New Labour in disguise.
UKIP - and the point is now?

HatfieldClaret · Post by **HatfieldClaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:35 pm

Lancasterclaret wrote:In a PR world, yeah then I'd agree with you.

I'm clutching at straws here for Burnley, but quite a lot of the people who live there don't understand the amount of money that comes into the town from the EU.

As you say, history tells all you need to know about investment that comes in under the Tories, but putting all that aside, you are talking about no funds coming in that won't be allocated on anything other than party political grounds.

But, as you know Lancaster, that money from the EU came from us. If our government are held to account on how they invest our money we can call them to account.

You are right in that politics comes in to how the government spend our money in our communities. Hatfield was supposed to get a new super hospital on the old BAe site. Until we elected an Conservative MP and the Labour government developed the hospital in Stevenage instead; of course, Stevenage had a Labour MP with a slim majority....

Lancasterclaret · Post by **Lancasterclaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:40 pm

*Sigh*

The EU decided where that money is spent, there are of course competing countries and regions wanting it, but the decision is based on actual need and from a UK funding point of view is impartial.

if its being handed out by the Tories, will it be impartial, and will it be to the areas that its needed? Assuming that anything is handed out....

If the Conservatives do it exactly the same way as the EU does it, I'll be over the moon. If only we had some historical context so we could make an educated guess on what and where they are going to spend it.......oh

nil_desperandum · Post by **nil_desperandum** » Mon May 15, 2017 2:56 pm

bfcjg wrote:. For the first time ever I am voting conservative in the election, I just think their policies are better for Burnley and the country.

So what are these policies? I'm genuinely intrigued, not that I am a supporter of JC, I just can't see which policies will be better for an economy and community like Burnley's, which is already set to lose millions due to the withdrawal of EU funding. Whether Burnley elects a Tory MP or not, I can't see the Government making Burnley a priority when it comes to redistributing revenues. Agriculture, and Wales will most likely be top of the list, (and maybe some sweeteners to the Scots), alongside subsidies for the likes of Nissan etc. (That's before we even think about promised additional funding for the NHS.)
The other factor is that a "Hard Brexit" or "No deal" is more likely under the Tories, which again is likely to be very detrimental to manufacturing and jobs in this area.
There's no doubt about it , (IMO), that the Tories will get a decent majority, but I would say that the more MPs there are who can stand up to them and try to protect the NHS and other public services, then the better it will be for ordinary working people. I personally think the NHS is worth fighting for, and there will be many Tory MPs who agree.

BleedingClaret · Post by **BleedingClaret** » Mon May 15, 2017 3:05 pm

[quote="bedfords"]Shouldn't you be more interested in the politics of the party rather than making a decision based on one interview?[/quote

Usually that would be sense, but in this case that would only make things worse, surely?